After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Bartram Trail, First Coast was happy to have turned things around on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Beachside Barracudas 4-2. That result was just more of the same for these two, as First Coast also won the last time the pair played back in March of 2023.
Ezekiel Ansley made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over six innings pitched. Ansley has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances. Ansley was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-2 with a stolen base and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Robert Bryson, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Hunter Carns, who went 1-for-4 with a home run.
On Beachside's side, Ryan Whitaker was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
On the hitting side, Beachside saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gavin Nickel, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
First Coast has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season. As for Beachside, they have been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 12 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-13 record this season.
First Coast will challenge Oakleaf at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Oakleaf will roll in looking for their sixth straight victory, something First Coast surely won't give up without a fight. As for Beachside, they will stay at home for another game and welcome Riverside at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Beachside has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
